Punk Hair FAQ

I just approved a comment about Dreadlocks removal.

I have to say, this is an unusual question for me because most people I know who have dreadlocks understand that dreads are less a fashion and more of a commitment.

The easiest way to remove dreads is to shave your head. I’ve also heard that some people have had moderate to impressive success with simply cutting the hair until each dread is about two or three inches long and then just spending a day with a fine-toothed comb and a LOT of de-tangler or just plain ol’ conditioner. Also, according to the Internet, mydreadlocks.com says that growing the hair out for a month or two *before* cutting your hair and abstaining from rolling, etc, so that the hair at the root is as loose as possible is probably the best way to go if you’re going to cut your hair.

If you feel like spending more than the cost of five bottles of Suave conditioner Knotty Boy makes a dread removal kit that costs $25, or you can buy two kits for $45: [link]
A few satisfied customers are quoted on the Knotty Boy product page, but just keep in mind that such pages are designed to sell you something. If you buy it, keep in mind that results will vary.

I’ve also seem some people recommend Take Down for dreadlock removal.

Now the reason I stated at the beginning of this article that dreads are a *commitment* is because, well, frankly they are. Dreadlocks, be they on white people or black people or any of the Asian persuasions, are something that takes a long time to do and can be a real pain-in-the-ass to take out — and even Knotty Boy’s satisfied customers state that they’ve had to cut a few inches of hair off the ends after removal. Even Whoopi Goldberg has had it suggested to her that if she’d take down her dreads, she’d get more and better parts, but she’s also committed to having dreads, so she pretty much says that if they really don’t want her character to have the same hair, then they could get her a wig, and she’s worn wigs in many of her more famous parts (like Ghost and The Colour Purple and Corina, Corina).

Before you do dreads, you should ask yourself if it’s really reasonable for you to have this hair style for at least a year — it’ll take about that long for them to really “settle in” is what I hear from most people. Also, I suggest that you “plan ahead” for their possible removal in the future — consider your dread removal options and consider what kind of conditioners would be best for your hair. Some people say that the extra oils in cheap conditioners are best while others swear by Mane n’ Tail or anything with placenta in it.

The basic technique for removing dreads is simple:

1) select your conditioners and a day where you’ll have at least the same abount of time it took you to do the dreads in the first place. This is a time-consuming process. If you forget how long it took you, figure in a minimum of eight to ten hours. It’s possible that you’ll even need a whole weekend.

2) bribe a friend to help you, if possible. this may help to cut your time in half.

3) pour a bunch of conditioner into a bowl and grab your comb. Don’t be seduced by those “detangler” combs, get a regular fine-toothed comb, prefereably one that promises to be unbreakable — but since you’ll probably break it anyway, get a minimum of two. They’re cheap, so quitcherbitchen.

4) scoop up a handful of conditioner and work from ends to scalp. spread the conditioner pretty thick at first and adjust how much you need per inch of length as it suits you.

5) comb out the dreads carefully and slowly in one-inch sections at a time per dread. It’s best to comb slowly, you’ll break less hair that way.

also: don’t be tempted to saturate your hair in water first. wet hair breaks more easily than dry hair. if you really want to start with wet hair, use a spray bottle and mist your hair.

Also consider *why* you need to remove your dreads. This can and should affect which method you use. Somebody who waits tables may want to keep their hair longer than somebody who works telephone tech support (many people think buzz-cuts on either women *or* men look “threatening”). I also know a girl who accidentally got a corn-based oil in her dreads and couldn’t wash it all out — now since most oils are fats, fats *will* rot and grow mould over time. Obviously, cutting off as much hair as she could get away with was the best option in her case.

If you go to a website designed to sell you dreadlock products and specifically “dread wax,” you’ll be told that you absolutely NEED their “dread wax” to make nice-looking dreads. On the other hand, if you REALLY start doing research on dreads, you’ll see mixed reports on how effective wax is to creating and maintaining nice-looking and healthy dreads.

Fact is, waxing newly-forming dreads is nothing more than one particular method. It’s not necessary. Some people will say wax is absolutely necessary and nothing but helpful, others will claim it will cause nothing but problems. Others will insist it’s neiter particularly harmful nor helpful, just unnecessary.

Here are some common problems I’ve seen reported with using wax in dreads:

This is basically what I’ve figured out from reading lot of other on-line tutorials:

You need:

• a head of hair, a minimum of three or four inches long
• a super-finetoothed comb (like a lice comb or a flea comb for your pet)
• a residue-free shampoo (either specially formulated for dreadlock-care, or a tea tree oil shampoo works fine enough and in some cases may be cheaper)

Optional:
• a natural beeswax
• snagless elastics for sectioning off hair
• a patient friend

1. Wash hair, then towel-and-air-dry or blow-dry
2. If you want, section off your dry hair, when it’s all sectioned off, you can start backcombing it.
3. Backcombing for dreads is a little different than backcombing for “Siouxsie Sioux hair” — you don’t want it “fluffy,” you want it as tight as possible. Sectioned-off or not, you may want a friend to help you with this cos you’re going to be sitting there and ratting your hair for a while, so you might as well bride a friend with oral sex or a bowl of candy or something to cut the time roughly in half. Start about an inch from the scalp, push the comb through and comb TOWARD the scalp. Keep doing that until you’ve reached the ends and do it with all sections.
4. After back-combing your dreads, you may want to palm-roll them (rub ‘em between your palms) to tighten shit up and help make more knots.
5. Many people with dreads advise against using wax. This is because wax is unnecessary and is pretty much only used to make the locks shiny. The ancient Egyptians used wax in their hair, but pretty much just to create a pleasing smell, detract bugs and stuff. If you want to go ahead and use wax, anyway, use it very sparingly, DO NOT blow-dry set it, and keep images like this in mind. Now look at Ani DiFranco or Zack de la Rocha’s hair. You don’t want to be wax-dependent, cos it won’t look great. If you’re going to use it, use it sparingly and don’t think that it’s going to do anything more than make your locks shiny and maybe provide a pleasing odor.

The upkeep involves washing your hair every few days to weekly (using only a residue-free shampoo and no conditioners), scalp massages (rub your scalp in circular motions with your fingertips, concentrating on the roots to tighten hair and form knots).

You can also dread up your Mohawk and the end results could end up looking pretty sweet.